Monthly Archives: February 2010

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Breakfast in Chile is regularly a loaf of bread with toppings and coffey or tea. Bread is bought fresh daily from a corner bakery, shop, or a bread salesman that travels around the neighborhood. In El Salvador it instead would be 2 tortillas, beans and coffey. (Some carbohydrates and proteins.) the largest meal of the day is lunch. Which usually has traditional Chilean dishes like Cazuela (a stew), Pastel de Choclo (similar to Shepard pie), or a wide variety of bean dishes. In rural areas, lunch hour means businesses will close. In El Salvador it would be some rice, fruits or vegetables, meat and juice or some tipical food. (Again proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables or fruits.) “Once” is a light meal eaten between 4 and 7 in the afternoon. Often times this is a repeat of breakfast; with bread and sandwich toppings with some tea or coffee a tradition is that men drink their liquor at that time. In El Salvador we don’t have “Once” it is optional, Dinner will be the size of lunch with traditional Chilean food for some families; other families would have a dinner bigger than lunch. In El Salvador there can be some typical food with fruit or vegetable juice or something hot like coffey.

There exist different explanations about the origins of the name “Chile.” The most accepted one is that it is derived from the native Aymará word chilli meaning “the land where the earth ends.” Chile is considered to be one of the most homogeneous nations of Latin America in both ethnic and cultural terms. In contrast to many other Latin American nations, Chile has not experienced the emergence of strong regionalism or conflicting regional cultural identities. Since the late nineteenth century, both the northern and southern regions have been mainly populated by people coming from the central region, helping to strengthen the country’s cultural homogeneity.

Notwithstanding the existence of a strong dominant national culture, some cultural regional traditions can be identified. In the northern provinces near Bolivia, Aymará Indians have been able to preserve many aspects of their Andean culture. In the southern region the Mapuche Indians are a large cultural group who strongly contributed to the formation of Chilean culture. On Chiloé Island also in the south, a distinct chilote culture emerged over the centuries from a relatively harmonious blending of Indian and Spanish backgrounds; this culture is characterized by rich traditions of music, dance, and mythological tales.

Some two thousand miles off the coast of Chile lies the remote Eastern Island, which is inhabited by twenty-eight hundred native islanders who still keep alive many of their Polynesian cultural traditions.

A devastating earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami set off by the magnitude-8.8 quake threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe. Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about as if shaken by a giant. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Chile in 50 years and one of the strongest ever measured anywhere. President-elect Sebastian Pinera said more than 120 people died, but that number was rising quickly. The quake shook buildings in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, and was felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil — 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to the east. Read More

Forgive me if I am indulging in all things Brooklyn but I am a Brooklynite so when a movie comes out with Brooklyn in the title, MCCN is going to have fun with it. In all fairness, MCCN decides to go grassroots by finding out what people in the Brooklyn Community Yelp about as the best specialty places in Brookyn.

All My Children fans may recognize Shannon Kane but many more will be introduced to her in Brooklyn’s Finest directed by the director of Training Day. In the new movie Brooklyn’s Finest(Read Review), Kane gives a convincing portrayal as the damaged goods Latina love interest of Richard Gere.

However, in this interview at the Pan-African Film Festival Kane speaks words of encouragement for her fellow Black Actresses in regards to the state of Black actresses in film and television.

Richard Gere (Brooklyn’s Finest/Pretty Woman/Officer and a Gentleman) has a long and successful career but his family heritage has a long historical connection in the United States. He is a descendent of Francis Eaton, one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. Gere is actually a descendent of a Pilgrim who landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620.

The Mayflower Compact is a written agreement composed by a consensus of the new Settlers arriving at New Plymouth in November of 1620. They had traveled across the ocean on the ship Mayflower which was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Mayflower Compact was drawn up with fair and equal laws, for the general good of the settlement and with the will of the majority. The Mayflower’s passengers knew that the New World’s earlier settlers failed due to a lack of government. They hashed out the content and eventually composed the Compact for the sake of their own survival. Read Info the Mayflower Compact

Pemmican is a nutritious, high calorie food that can be prepared in quantities and stored. The French and English explorers, trappers, and traders, bought large quantities of pemmican from the Aboriginals, and even learned to make pemmican. Pemmican would be sealed inside an animal skin or stomach cavity to preserve it. Europeans carried these pemmican stores on long furtrading expeditions.

When the Winter Olympic Ceremonies in Vancouver began it opened with reverence for history, a history which begins with the Aboriginal People of Canada.

History

Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors “Indian” and “Eskimo” are falling into disuse. Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are the earliest archaeological sites of human habitation in Canada. The Paleo-Indian Clovis, Plano cultures and Pre-Dorset pre-date American indigenous and Inuit cultures. Projectile point tools, spears, pottery, bangles, chisels and scrapers mark archaeological sites, thus distinguishing cultural periods, traditions and lithic reduction styles. Hundreds of Aboriginal nations evolved trade, spiritual and social hierarchies. The Métis culture of mixed blood originated in the mid-17th century when First Nation and native Inuit married European settlers. The Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during that early period. Various laws, treaties, and legislation have been enacted between European immigrants and First Nations across Canada. Aboriginal Right to Self-Government provides opportunity to manage historical, cultural, political, health care and economic control aspects within first people’s communities.- Wikepedia

Julius Hollis, Earl Cummings, Sean Pittman, Daniel Halpern, Robert Shumake, Sen. Rodney Ellis, David Rivers and Art Collins, in support of The Alliance for Digital Equality (ADE), kicked off Super Bowl XLIV™ weekend in style, as they hosted a private celebration, “A Gridiron Toast to Excellence,” at the lush Mia at Biscayne on Friday, February 5, 2010. The lavish event primarily served to honor well-respected luminaries who excel in their respective fields of practice, consistently enriching the communities in which they live and work. In the field of politics, the ADE honored U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip (SC-Dem), Congressman James E. Clyburn; in the field of media, honorees included nationally syndicated radio personality and philanthropist, Tom Joyner, as well as Chairman and CEO of BET Holdings, Debra Lee; in the field of sports/philanthropy, Miami Heat superstar and Chairman Emeritus of Alonzo Mourning Charities, Alonzo Mourning were honored;

Alonzo Mourning

in the field of business, retired Executive Vice President of Coca-Cola, Vicki Palmer was recognized; and Miami legends, Gloria and Emilio Estefan were recognized in the field of entertainment/philanthropy.

Julius Hollis, Chairman of The Alliance for Digital Equality, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that seeks to bridge the technology divide between underserved ethnic and minority communities within the United States and the technology advanced marketplace, has staged this event since 1993 with past honorees including Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin; former Mayor of Houston, Lee P. Brown; music business pioneer and chief executive, Clarence Avant; Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, Harold Ford, Jr. real estate magnate, R. Donahue Peebles; and Ernie Greene to name only a few. Read More